Oh, I would be remiss to forget that we are treated to a bonus classic Betty and Veronica story at the end that includes all the best parts found in Archie comics: a competition between the two girls, some magic, and a completely oblivious Archie.

In the end, this story arc may not go down as the greatest of all time, however, Waid and Woods have crafted a story that will have an immediate impact on the residents of Riverdale. And more importantly, it lives up to its "Everything changes" proclamation in the never-changing world of Archie Comics.

On art, Moke continues to amaze. She had done wonderful work in the past on Josie and the Pussycats and she continues to shine on the main title. It’s really hard to find anything bad when reading a comic drawn by Mok and I can’t wait to see more from her. She is fast becoming a favourite of mine.

Month in and month out, Audrey Mok is fast becoming one of my favorite artists. Everything she does is crisp and clean and jumps off the page. However, I have to give her extra props this month for the incredibly fun sequence of Moose riding Tonie’s Dilton-modified scooter. Visual gags are a staple of Archie comics, and this was an extremely fun one this month.

If you aren’t reading this new Archie comic series by Waid and company, I don’t know what you are waiting for. From the first issue onwards, this has consistently been one of the best comics on the newstands in the past two years and you do yourself a disservice not reading it.

All this combined gives us a book that is an extremely fun read every month and is at the top of my recommendations each week it is out. Oh, and let us not forget the amazing work that Mok and Fitzpatrick do every month either. Their work is nothing short of brilliant.

As I mentioned above, Mok continues to be great on art and I really hope she is in for the long haul; Fitzpatrick continues to be one of my favourite colourists out there as everything she does bring life to the pencils. The one thing that I can say never dragged down this series is the art.

As a debut issue in an anthology. Arya did its job in grabbing my attention and giving me a reason to continue reading. I will admit I preferred Adventure Quest by Akimiya but that is only because of the fact that it reminded so much of my past with my friends: a big plus for a comic.

On art duties this month is Mike Norton from Battlepug fame. Knowing his pedigree, it is no surprise that G-Dog is probably one of the cutter superheroes around. Aside from that, Norton’s art is superb throughout the issue. I’d like to also mention, his designs for the Pet Patrol were awesome. A Kittyhawk toy/plush would be greatly appreciated.

As simple of a premise as it is, this issue continues to showcase Busiek's brilliance as a writer of the comic form. A comic of this nature doesn't always work, and probably doesn't in most cases, but with his steady hand, you can't help but feel the emotion. Couple that with Anderson's art and you get an understated classic. A comic that may not set the world on fire, but that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of the genre.

In conclusion, this was a fun debut issue for Carey and Yarar. I was expecting quite a bit from Carey due to his previous work, and was pleasantly surprised by Yarar’s art. I will warn though, for a comic from Dynamite, there is quite a bit of nudity in this issue that I was not expecting, so reader beware.

I’m a broken-record at this point when it comes to the fact that I feel that this comic is the most European comic that I’ve seen in a while, and that continues with this issue. The art is pitch-perfect, the writing is snappy and the short arc feels like it belongs in a European BD (the French term for comics). Couple this with a character that we continue to learn a little more about with each issue in Barbarella and some fantastic sidekicks - the mechanical horse and the little rat thing are stand out - and you get a comic that is really fun to read and just experience.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Fornés joins on art with this issue with Celeste Woods on colours. They do a magnificent job throughout the issue. Fornés has really clean lines and great use of perspective, but Woods’ colours are what really steal the show here. Using more flat colours with heavy emphasis on shadow makes Fornés’ art just come off the page. Really good job here.

Having said that about the story, the pencils from Yarar continue to impress in this issue. His style is very european and as I’ve mentioned, would fit well in those old-school european comics and I love that. His characterizations and staging of action scenes are also on point and add to the story in all the best ways. I continue to thoroughly enjoy his work and this series.

The story continues to fun, Sci-Fi goofiness, and Carey has a pretty interesting antagonist this time around making this issue a good read. I could continue to rave about Yarar’s art, but I don’t really need to. I’ll reaffirm though that he is so well suited to this title that it’s crazy.

As with the other specials, we are treated to a few of Kirby's Grabbers, this time around dealing with the denizens of Supertown, namely Fastbak, the Black Racer and Vikyn the Black. These again showcase just how good Kirby was and there really isn't much else to add to that.

For a first chapter, Bombshells United #1 does an excellent job of making you want to read and see more. Bennett and Sauvage continue a partnership that clearly works and are also tackling a subject matter not always widely talked about today.

The second half of this issue, drawn by DiChiara, moves away from the overarching theme, and moves towards a more typical Clayface story: did Clayface replace one of our heroines to gain access to their camp? It’s a tale of two different styles, but it strikes a good balance for this issue to make sure that it isn’t too heavy-handed.

In all, Bennett’s take on Wonder Woman and her cast of characters in World War II was a pretty fun read and fits perfectly in the digital-first model. Each chapter of this opening arc truly did feel like I was reading a singular chapter of a greater story. It also helped that Bennett properly utilized this format to tell the story.

One advantage of this issue that helped keep the cohesiveness going was the art of Jarrell with Fitzpatrick on colours. One small critique I've had of previous issues was the fact that the same artist would do consecutive chapters, but those chapters wouldn't be in the same issue. Here, both chapters 11 and 12 keep the same art team throughout and the comic is better for it.

Combined with the art by Ortiz, Bennett’s script for this issue accomplishes exactly what it set out to do: re-introduce a character we haven’t seen for a while in this universe, introduce new ones, and finally, give purpose to the events that unfold. A great start.

Bombshells United continues to be one of those smartly written, extremely fun comics that I find myself coming back to every two weeks (or weekly for those who buy it digitally). I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, DC Comics has maximized their tie-in potential with a lot of their properties in the past few years that has led to some fun comics that aren’t tied down by continuity, only by the creative team's imagination.

This series continues to be a fun look into this world that Bennett and her bevy of artists continue to create. It’s always fun to see what she comes up with next and this story-arc has been a fun ride.

Jarrell’s art also compliments the story quite well and she has a hint of Cliff Chiang in her style which will keep her on my radar of artists to follow. Her linework though is intensified by probably by my favorite issue on colors that Fitzpatrick has ever done. They are a great team that I hope to see work together again in the future. And to end, the cover for this issue is spectacular. I really want to see a Jarrell/Fitzpatrick Mary Marvel series now.

Jarrell and Fitzpatrick on art continue to do a marvelous job. More and more that I see Fitzpatrick’s colors, more and more I’m beginning to appreciate how good she is and how much she brings to each comic that I read of hers.

Where this issue suffers this week is the plot. I understand that you have to have some sort of conflict within the issue itself, but it becomes pretty lazy storytelling when the go-to plot point is heroes fighting seemingly heroic characters (I’m not sure where faux-Suicide Squad falls right now) over a simple request. Literally everything that goes wrong in this issue is Black Canary’s fault. This in turn doesn’t lend to too much sympathy on my part.

However, the use of the Deus Ex Machina and the flip flopping of antagonist in this story took away from what had been a somewhat enjoyable story. I see why Bennett chose to do it this way, since she is clearly setting up for the final run of issues with this chapter (it was announced that Bombshells United was ending soon). It’s just too bad it was done in such a haphazard way.

On the art front, J. Nanjan has been the colourist throughout this series, but for some reason, seems to have been rushed in this issue. At times, the colours compliment Oum’s pencils, but other times flatten the pencils out completely making it look, dare I say, amateurish. It’s too bad that this is happening with the end of the series on the horizon.

At the end of the day, this issue ameliorates on the previous one in every aspect, but still suffers from a lot of showing without explaining. Many times throughout the issue I was left wondering what exactly was going on (I’m looking at you Super Family flying around the Earth with zero explanation).

In all, this series has been great fun up to date and reminds me of another bug from the DC Universe: Ambush Bug! I wouldn’t be surprised if the Allreds had some influence from Ambush Bug’s series from the 2000s as a template for this series. They both have similar “hopping” through the DC Universe backlog to them, and as a comic history nerd, this has been a lot of fun.

On art, there’s nothing I could say that has not already been said about the Allred’s. Michael and Laura have their style and have perfected it without a doubt. Everything in this issue is beautiful. One small touch I truly enjoy is the use of non bubbled, for lack of a better word, of Kazuko’s dialogue. It is omnipresent throughout the series, but is always done as funny quips explaining the situation at hand, or simple observations. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I feel it adds just that extra touch to this already great book.

Abnett, in this first issue, has done a wonderful job of reintroducing the world to Captain Kronos and his assistants to a new generation. In just one issue you already get a sense of who these three characters are. Kronos is the self-assured, strong lead; Grost is the wily veteran with all the knowledge, and Carla is the brash, young newcomer. This, coupled with the fantastic art, truly makes a great first issue.

On art, Von Oeming continues to delight with expressive characters and incredible monster design - the Whisperer, and lackeys, are just the perfect amount of grotesque. As this is predominantly a “talking” issue with some action sprinkled in, the characters tend to be a little more static than I would prefer, but in all, Von Oeming continues to help elevate this comic with his visuals.

This series, as well as all Young Animal titles, have been a blast to read and I’m glad they are continuing, even if it’s not right away. I for one can’t wait to see what Way, Rivera and Avon Oeming have for us next in Cave’s world.

Dark Age issue 1 is a strong first issue from Bunn and Doe and sets the stage for what seems to be a pretty crazy ride for the reader. Bunn smartly chose to start a few different plot threads to keep the reader wanting more. At first, this issue was not even on my radar, but now, I can’t wait to see what comes next. That is the mark of a great first issue.

And to conclude, in the final Grabbers by Kirby himself, we get another story from Supertown and "The All-Seeing Eye" from Tales of the Unexpected #12. Again, both are very fun stories and are great examples of the King's work.

After this first issue, I commend Ennis for continuing this insanely weird ride that DC Comics has taken the reader on with these Hanna-Barbera reimaginings. He nails the witty repartee between Mutt and Dick and sets up some intriguing clues as to what we can expect going forward in the story. If it wasn't clear from my review, Mutt begins as human, but unfortunately the cover does kinda spoil what happens to him after the crash, which you can't always lay at the feet of the writer. Either way, this was a pretty entertaining issue that was made even better by Mauricet's art.

I began the review by indicating this issue is filled with hijinks that you would typically associate with Saturday-morning cartoons, and this is more than accurate as you continue to read, and visually see through Mauricet's art, exactly what is happening to our lead characters. To wit, we have a special agent use a "toy" gun to punch literal holes in people - and they remain alive? We have shark turned into a cartoon shark. And finally, we have a punch heard around the world. Mauricet has done an excellent job at visually representing all that is happening and I like that they chose to change the style enough when the cartoony aspects are on the page. Visually, this has been an excellent series so far.

On art, Mauricet continues to shine as he brings these characters and environment to life. Since we are essentially dealing with cartoons come to life, the art has to be reflective of this and Mauricet never ceases to entertain. The incredible hijinx that he is tasked with drawing simply elevates the story and keeps bringing a smile to my face.

Qualano’s art is a highlight of this issue and I hope to see himon the title for the foreseeable future. I can only describe his linework as “breezy” as it feels like everything is drawn effortlessly on the page. I’m curious to know if he has some kind of bet going on with someone else on the creative team to see how many different outfits he can come up with for Dejah (namely the headdress), as by my count, Dejah is at least 4 different outfits throughout the issue.

Qualano’s art and Pinto’s colors are a bright spot in an otherwise drab second issue. Everything they do simply jumps off of the page. The fluidity of the art is also quite impressive and unique enough to make the comic stand out. No real complaints on this front.

The art from Pasquale Qualano and colors by Pinto continue to be good every month and I will say, they are very consistent, so I will give good marks there. Where I will take some marks away is the two-page spread: usually you want something epic in that spread, but instead we get a very generic and simple background art.

In all, this new quarterly anthology by IDW is a welcome addition to today’s comic landscape. It is always fun to have a comic like Donald and Mickey that gives us classic Disney stories that can be easily enjoyed by young and old. The art is pure Disney as well, sticking closely to the house-style, which is not a bad thing whatsoever. For most, when they read about Donald and Mickey, they want classic Donald and Mickey and that is exactly what you get here.

As an interlude, this issue of Doom Patrol was a great read and continues what I believe has been quite a successful launch to the DC’s Young Animal line of comics. As well as the Chief’s story in this issue, we were also given a few glimpses into the future, and I for one, can’t wait to see where Way takes the Doom Patrol next.

One thing that has always been great about former Doom Patrol stories has been the sense of forced family that the characters had to endure. Here, Way and Derington do a good job portraying exactly that: Casey isn’t happy about her new position with Danny, stating that she loves her apartment, but is willing to move into Dannyland anyways. We also have Sam trying to reconcile with his wife who’s been in Crazy Jane’s cult for the past four years and their son Lucius experimenting with forces he probably shouldn’t be touching. And finally, we have Cliff beginning to worry about Trainor’s frequent trips to the dream world, leaving the real world behind.

Kotz and Rennee do an admirable job on art making the city felt lived in and the action look crisp. Through no fault of their own, the fact that the setting is night time drowns out a little bit of the characters throughout the issue since most of them have a darker colour scheme. You can see that Rennee tries to bring added colour on each page, like the villain's red cape, but it still makes for a pretty dark issue all around.

On art, Mighten channels somewhat Kirby in his choice of panel layouts and the movement of the characters, but it is subtle enough, that if you didn’t know, you could probably miss it. He brings his own style that is his own to the comic as well, which helps distinguish himself that the inspirations are seen, but are not overwhelming. On colors, Bailey does a fantastic job of not drowning out Fighting American and Speedboy. They are always vibrant in their blue, red and yellow suits and easily stand out from the background.

All in all, this was a really fun read for a first issue of a new property that is paying homage to old brawlers from the 80s and 90s. It’s definitely a comic worth picking up and can still be ordered from your local comic shops - publication of the physical copy will be in June.

Even though this is a first issue, Parker had already laid the groundwork for this series with last year’s Future Quest. With Presents, he continues his strong work introducing a whole new generation to these beloved Hanna-Barbera characters of old and having Space Ghost be the first to get the spotlight was a great move.

Ariel Olivetti brings all this to life with his beautifully painted panel work. It’s strange to say this, but I feel like Olivetti was born to draw Space Ghost and his adventures and because of this, it is almost unfair to critique him on this book.

What has been quite enjoyable from this series, as well as all other Hanna-Barbera series, is that all the stories we are getting could easily fit as cartoons as well as comic books. These stories, though nothing revolutionary, are fun, a little crazy, and are great ways to continue the tradition of these classic characters. It also helps that you can get a legend like Steve Rude to join on art duties and bring everything to life is such a fantastic way - and the title page for this issue has an amazing piece by him.

On art, Rude is nothing short of masterful in this issue. His pencils convey so much movement and action in every panel he draws that it will take a few re-reads to fully embrace everything that is going on on the page. Couple that with Kalisz's fantastic colors in this issue and you have a comic that does exactly what a comic should do: be a visual storytelling medium.

Lieber’s art is also excellent throughout the issue with great compliments from Hill on colours. Everything clean, well-staged and pops off the page. It’s the perfect addition to a fun, one-shot story.

All in all, this issue was a lot of fun to read. I think the best part is Aaron Lopresti’s art. I’ve always been a big fan of his over the years and I’m always glad to see his work. I can’t say a bad thing about his art.

Aaron Lopresti on art is, quite simply, one of the best and the Herculoids look amazing under his guidance. I can’t say enough about how gorgeous this whole issue looks. It doesn’t hurt that Ryan on inks brings just the right touch and Hi-Fi’s colours continue to shine.

As a new reader to the series, I have to say that this was an enjoyable issue to read. Sometimes, all you want from a comic is for it to be full of action while still advancing the storyline. Whether Sitterson and Milonogiannis can continue having fun with the book once they get roped into First Strike is still to be determined, but I can see them excelling in that regard.

In the end, it’s sad to see this series end as it seems like there was definitely more story to tell with this new group of X-kids. I’m just hoping they don’t fall into obscurity as a lot of the other X-kids from the past.

Speaking of the action, I will give Chankhamma their due. The action set pieces are excellent. The fight at the beginning between Baboushka and HH felt raw in most of its movement and a lot of fun. And the last action set piece was also a lot of fun to read and see on the page.

Charnkhamma on art improved in this issue. There are still a few hiccups here and there - most notably Helga's face for some reason - but in general, it was a much more pleasing visual experience. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the colours this time around were more vibrant which enhanced the rest of the look of the comic.

In the end, Gotham Academy will be missed. It was a fun three year ride and I truly hope some of these characters will pop up in other books down the line - if not a Gotham Academy: Third Semester book. It would be criminal never to see Maps again.

I enjoyed this issue as a vehicle to let the reader to get to know more of the characters of this world. Barda comes off, as she usually does, as a brave warrior willing to not only take the fight to the enemy, but also as a protector of her charge. She gives off a “Big sister” vibe when it comes to Kara, willing to protect her at any cost.

The art in this issue was fantastic and helped introduce me to Aneke, an artist I had never seen before. Their line work is perfectly complimented by Fitzpatrick’s colours and really brings this story to life.

This month, the art duties go to Carnero and Mulvihil who do an admirable job with the interior art. Everything is crisp, clear and has some excellent visual storytelling going on. I’m really hoping these two get to work more on this title together.

On art duties this time around sees the return of Doyle in the first chapter. Being the first artist to draw for this series, Doyle established the look and feel of the series and its great to see her back. For the second chapter, Donovan does an admirable job, especially in the flashback sequences.

I had never heard of Aneke before on art, but they did an admirable job. The fight sequences were fluid and the interpretation of Canary in her Gotham City Garage garb is fantastic. There are a couple of hiccups here and there with the faces throughout, but that is mostly a nitpick.

Through this framing device, we get a reaffirmation of most of the characters reasons for fighting, but also get some last minute character development as well. It’s a good use of this chapter by Kelly and Lanzing as the final issue will deal with the big battle, and more than likely, the fallout.

Another great part of this comic itself is the art from Brian Ching and colors from Fitzpatrick. It is a shame that they weren’t there for the entire run, but it’s nice to have Ching back for the final chapters after doing such a great job launching the series.

The art for the issue is pretty decent but unspectacular at the exact same time. Thinking back on the issue, I can’t even remember what the style was like without actually going back to the comic itself.

On art, Lobosco is also another unknown to me, but again, I was really impressed. Something I've noticed a lot of artists do these days to cut down on time needed to complete a comic is to completely and utterly forget about backgrounds which Lobosco does not. Yes, there are a few panels that don't have any, but for the most part, this comic feels alive and it's not just because of the characters.

Lobosco and O’Halloran continue to work wonders on art. Lobosco’s line work is clean and O’Halloran’s colours give the whole issue a nice, flat look that works well for this type of comic. I like my horror comics o be slightly darker and less flashy.

On art duty, Lobosco’s lines combined with O’Halloran’s colors continue to jump off the page and have been quite the added bonus to this series. Too often with mini’s like these, the art duty will be given to a more subpar talent, but not in this case. It’s always great to discover a new art team (to me in this case) that I’ll look for in the future.

On art, Braga does a good job throughout, but is hampered by today’s comics industry’s need to have a different cover artist than interior artist. I usually don’t mind the disconnect, but in this series, it’s pretty glaring. Braga has her own style that is wildly different than Amanda Connor who provided the covers. That, coupled with the fact that Braga chose t redesign a few characters - I have never seen Mr. Weatherbee that buff - left me wanting more from her. That said, I find she nails the heroines of the book, which is good.

Overall, I have quite enjoyed this zany crossover between four very popular comic characters that you may not have thought would ever meet. Dini and Andreyko give us just the perfect level of hijinx in each issue to keep me entertained and Braggs continues to have fun with the characters she's given.

As much as the hijinx was fun throughout the issue, it still felt a little lacking in parts. Braga and Melo's art continues to be a high point of the series, but the story kinda took a backseat for this issue. It's not that it was bad, not by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that it was riddled with tropes and you could see where most of the story was going from a few pages out.

On art, Merino is a welcome addition to Hellblazer. He brings a certain level of grit and noir feel to the series that was sorely missing in previous issues. I have been a big proponent of artists being able to convey emotion through character’s facial expressions and Merino does this admirably in this issue. I can honestly say that Constantine, and Margaret, run the gamut of emotions throughout the issue and this just adds to the story.

Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 was a fun debut issue in the Boom Box line-up of comics. With fun characters and a mini-cliffhanger on the final page, Usdin and Vakueva do a great job of creating interest and intrigue. Oh, and who didn’t want to work at a record store in the 90s?

Vakueva and Nalty continue to impress on art duties. Every single character introduced up to date have their own distinctive look and style that really helps distinguish one from the other. It also gives the reader visual queues on the type of person they may be. Everyone is dynamic on the page, and we can feel each character’s emotion - something I have touched upon on other reviews that I am big proponent of.

The art team also continues to impress this issue. Vakueva brings so much life to the characters on the page that it continues to bring every single character's personality to forefront. I am always a fan of characters that show true emotion in a comic and Vakueva does Chris justice throughout this issue: we see Chris go from pure elation to pure dread, to pure “I’ve figured this out”. Hats off!

In all, Heavy Vinyl has been a fun mini-series that has suffered from a few missteps, but that I would gladly recommend to anyone looking for something different in their comic pull list. I have a feeling that this mini will read much better as a trade paperback (like so many other series these days).

Hopefully, this won’t be last we see of Josie and the Pussycats in this new Archie universe. With The Archies just around the corner, I hope that Josie, Valerie and Melody will get to guest-star from time to time, but a new series would be best.

The art continues to impress. This week Marcus To lends Manapul a hand (probably to make this extremely tight deadline), but it doesn’t come off noticeable at all. Since they work in the same studio, there was probably a lot of back and forth between the two to make sure the art stayed consistent throughout.

In the end, the story continues to showcase some pretty high stakes for all characters. involved and is setting up quite nicely the new launch of Justice League in two weeks. It’s just disappointing that this bait and switch with the art happened in such a highly touted mini.

In the end, Willingham hoodwinked me with this comic. His opening title for the first half of the comic should have been a clear indication that his D&D inspired characters would not be the protagonists of the story, and yet I fell for this little ruse. Only when we are introduced to Lark did I truly feel the story really took off but the story was hurt somewhat by the lackluster art (in the second-half of the book).

What makes this issue even better is that we are treated at the end to a short story written and illustrated by Willingham about a wizard and his genie set in this new world. It’s a fun read and adds some value to the comic - and who doesn’t like Willingham prose.

And you know what, sometimes that is all you need for a comic to be good: a fun plot and be visually appealing. And that is exactly what this issue provides in spades and it all leads to what will be the main driving force for the remainder of this story-arc: the stowaway.

Buchemi and Augusto team up to bring us some pretty fun art throughout the issue. It’s dynamic when it needs to be and more subdued in other parts. It may not be to everyone’s liking - it does lack polish here and there - but it conveys what it needs to convey. There are a few parts, and I stress just a few, where the backgrounds seem to have been forgotten, but otherwise, a very nice job on their part.

Art duties for a book on Legion can sometimes be tricky, but Wilfredo Torres is up to the task. Legion having so many different power sets will always lead to some spectacular visuals under a steady hand and that is what Torres brings to the table. Everything is sufficiently weird to work.

All in all, this debut issue from Layman and Pitarra was good, but not great. My chief concern after reading it was whether or not they will be able to distinguish themselves from other monster/kaiju fare. The lack of a distinct hook in the story and a pretty bland main character didn’t help much either. I’m fully in “wait and see” mode for the second issue to see if it changes my mind since Chew was one of my favorite non-capes comic of the past ten years.

Finally, as with the other specials, we are treated to a few classic Kirby “grabbers”. These have been a joy to read and this issue is no different. It’s a great way to experience a slice of Kirby’s excellent work over the years and to also discover how wide his interests seemed to be. I would also like to mention that in “A World of Thinking Robots”, his prediction of the future is eerily accurate.

In all, Mech Cadet Yu is a strong first outing for the team of Pak and Miyazawa. They do a great job of introducing us to Stanford’s world. As mecha comics go, this was a pretty fun first outing and I can’t wait to see where they take it from here.

Now that we are halfway through the initial issues of Mech Cadet Yu, I’ll be interested to see where Pak takes the story going forward. Clearly there is a lot of world building that can continue to take place within the comic and I for one am here for the ride.

Miyazawa’s art and Farrell’s colors continue to be one of the biggest draws for this series as well. It’s hard to describe just how good this team is, so I won’t even try. All you need to do is admire the covers and preview art to know how good they are.

This issue was a fun introduction by Gage to the concept of the MIcronauts. I had heard the name over the years, known they had comics, toys and the like over the years, but never really paid much attention to them. Gage did a good job of quickly going over the individual Micronauts, their powers and what they bring to the table. This, combined with the overall narrative of including them in not only the crossover event, but linking them to Rom, made for a fun read.

In all, this annual was a disappointment to me as a new reader. Most of the stories relied on past knowledge of the characters showcased and only really Superior and Huck - both Superman pastiches - explained who these characters were.

Mister Miracle #1 is a hard comic to review insofar that it just works. And it works on so many levels. You can always tell when a writer/artist team knows one another pretty well because the writing compliments the art which compliments the writing. King and Gerads opening to this 12-issue mini-series is near perfect in that it gives you just enough information that leaves you wanting more. And with this 12 issue format, we know going in that King and Gerads have this already planned out, and that we won’t be left hanging in the end. I for one, cannot wait for the next issue.

The one thing I’ll add, it is very apparent that Gerards does it all: from pencils to inks to colour. And the colour is some of my favourite. I am always a fan when an artist utilizes colour to distinguish between worlds and Gerards does just that in Mister Miracle: you know when Barda and Scott are on Apokolips or are in the middle of battle - the colour scheme will be much darker and “redder”. Whereas, while on New Genesis, Gerards continues his distinctive style of rough drawings, but we are treated to a much lighter colour palate with extensive use of yellow.

The team-up of King and Gerards continues to astound. Now that we are three issues, you can tell that a lot of love is going into this comic series and that we are all the better for it. King’s writing is a cut above most other series at this time and Gerards art continues to be the perfect complement.

King and Gerards have proven time and time again in these four issues that they clearly have a deep love for these characters and want to do right by them. We, as the readers, are just lucky enough that we get to experience this ride with them. We’re a third through this series and I for one cannot wait to see what comes next.

In the end, this issue perfectly encapsulates the series as a whole in that we get to be a part of an incredible character study that makes us feel all those emotions described in the last paragraph as we follow King and Gerards’ exploration of what makes Scott Free Mister Miracle. With the next issue, we’ll be at the halfway mark, but I can honestly say, this is already shaping up to be one of the best series of the last decade.

Keeping King’s script tied together is the continually amazing work that Gerads brings to this book. Doing everything himself, the care he takes in bringing out pretty much everything from his art is spectacular and one of the main driving forces of this series.

I’d like to also like to point out the awesome product placement of DC Comics t-shirts that Scott keeps wearing. Hell, I own a few of those myself. I’m not sure if this was Gerads who chose to do this or it was done at King’s suggestion, but it’s a fun little easter egg.

My favourite part of this month’s backup is how Hester depicts Debbie and her father apparently putting the pieces together in this case. He does this by changing up the paneling of the page from page to page. On the first page, the panels are actually puzzle pieces and as the story progresses, the pieces/panels start coming together to finally form a complete page. Amazing use of the visual format that is comic books.

In the backup story, Gotham Radio, we finally get the conclusion of this mini-story from Krueger and Hester. In my last review, I mentioned how Hester and Krueger took full advantage of the 3 page format. This issue, however, I’ll admit to being a little lost at first, not realizing at first that we were finally face-to-face with the killers of Danny Ruby. The conclusion itself feels like a bait-and-switch “How the hell was I supposed to see coming?” but in the end, I really enjoyed it. Krueger did a good job with the dialogue to make the reader understand the motivation behind the killing. However, the mystery of the vigilante killer is revealed, so we’ll see if Gotham Radio continues.

Finally, this special adds two short reprinted Kirby stories written for the early New Gods issues dealing with Lonar and his mighty steed Thunderer. These are two great examples of what made Kirby the King.

Like previous Kirby 100 specials, we are treated to a Kirby “Grabber” starring the Newsboy Legion by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. This was a fun Golden Age tale and a great addition to this somewhat ho-hum special.

On art, Zama and Burcham do an excellent job. I've always admired artists that get to draw for a Transformers comic because it cannot be easy having to deal with all these different characters and their unique body models.

Kei Zama’s art is widely different than the other artists with Transformers books out this week and I love that! It may simply be that the inks are much darker in this issue, but that works to set the mood of the storyline. An all around excellent job by the art team this month.

This all leads to a final page reveal that I won’t spoil here, but that I expect was a massive shocker to long-time Transformers fans who have been keeping up with the series over the years. Even as a newer fan/reader, I was shocked and credit goes to Barber and Zama for pulling it off so perfectly. I knew in that moment that it was meant to be epic, and that would not have happened without their excellent storytelling.

I don’t usually remark on “Next month on…” pages that appear in some books, but I can’t praise enough how good these have been in the Transformers comics. I’m not sure if these are handled strictly by editorial, but it feels like Barber has a hand in them. This, and issue 17’s, “Next month” features were perfect teases and has built my anticipation for issue #19.

As a whole, this comic was hands down one of my favorite reads that I've had in quite a while. The whole premise of the issue is fantastic, Barber's writing made me fall in love with Thundercracker and Buster, Tramontano and Griffith's art is fantastic throughout (and when reading Transformers comics, a big positive when you can tell them all apart), and Bove and Burcham's colors just pop off the page (and help quite a bit when distinguishing between Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp - gotta love those repaints right?).

Guidi and Wycough's art was hit or miss for me throughout the issue. First the good: they did an excellent job when it came to the transformers themselves. I've continually been impressed with artists over the years that can get even some detail into these machines and this is the case in this issue. Each transformer is distinct enough from each other that I was able to remember their names throughout. The not so good, however, involves the human characters. For the most part, Faireforne, Action man and Mayday looked okay, but at times it seemed like the artists ran out of time drawing their faces. They sometimes felt "off".

In the end, I found Packs of the Low Country a very enjoyable read. The writing by Dudley was crisp and to the point and never veered into decompression, and the art by Cardenas was greatly enhanced by Mark Dale and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s colours. I can also say, Cardenas can draw a mean forest setting. Whenever our characters were outside in the brush, Cardenas’ art really popped.

All in all, this issue continues the strong work from both Chiang and Vaughan. The story may be slightly convoluted at points, but Vaughan continues to drop enough hints from issue to issue to keep you coming back for more. We are slowly learning who all these extra characters are that the girls keep running into, and thus the bigger picture continues to fill in.

The only real complaint I had about the issue is that it isn’t really new-reader friendly. I say this mostly in the case of the characters themselves. They each clearly have an established history, but that isn’t conveyed in the comic itself. You’d be forgiven if you weren’t sure which one was Seoni and which one was Merisiel when they are first introduced. A very easy solution to this would have been to add a recap page at the beginning listing who was who.

The art continues to be impressive and a lot of fun. During the flashback, Garcia and Hickman use muted colours and a slightly more simplistic art style to demark it from the present day. For the present day, everything is pretty crisp, the colours are vivid, and Garcia’s staging of each panel is really fun to look at. Excellent job all around!

All in all, this was probably one of the best first issues I’ve read recently when it comes to reintroducing a world to new readers. Williams does a magnificent job of telling us who these characters are and how they fit into this new “World without wonder.”

On art, the team of Geovani and Augusto establish a good visual style throughout the issue. Geovani does a great job a layout throughout with neat tricks like the long vertical panel to denote distance, wider shots to capture as much as the action as possible and proper use of a splash page. I was worried at points that his Tarzan was a little on the thin side (Tarzan seems to always be in peak physical condition with bulging muscles), but that was done on purpose it seems for a nice end of issue scene.

As a stand-alone issue, Maxwell and Ewing really brought a fun, yet very campy story this month. However, it was a difficult trying to suspend my disbelief reading this issue since these stories are supposed to be reflective of the ongoing narrative in the TV show which hasn’t really touched on the most supernatural aspects that are commonplace in the Archie comic universe. However, it was an excellent nonetheless and having Joe Eisma at the helm on art greatly added to my enjoyment. His simplistic style has always been appreciated when showcased in comic like Riverdale.

As I said, I’ve really been enjoying Riverdale the comic series as we get to know more about the secondary characters that have not yet gotten their moment in the spotlight on the TV show. The fact that it is written by writers on the show helps make it feel more like a part of the TV series than most tie-ins tend to be.

Riverdale as a whole is a fun, light read every month and it’s a fun way to keep up with the TV show in-between episodes. The art is always pretty good and keeps to the new Archie esthetic pretty closely - Pitilli’s style is similar but not exactly like a lot of other Archie artists these days. In all, a fun issue and great for any fan of the show.

What this tie-in comic really proves to me on a monthly basis is that the TV show proper is missing out on exploring a lot of their secondary characters that are pretty big in the Archie universe proper. The fact that characters like Reggie, Moose, Midge and Dilton are only ever seen from time to time on the show is a real shame. Luckily we have the comic to follow their adventures.

Turini on art continues from last issue in giving the reader some crisp linework - his Veritech fighters look really good, and I do enjoy that they are distinctive enough from other mecha out there to make them easily recognizable.

After an explosive second issue, Wood and Turini have done the right thing in issue #3 and dialled back the action (there is none), to concentrate on the characters themselves. As with Lynn and Rick, we also get to learn some background tidbits about Lisa Hayes (who is on Mars?) and that Captain Gloval and Roy Fokker are hiding something about SDF-1.

Overall, this issue was not my favorite of Wood and Turini’s run on Robotech. Unlike previous issues that had a drive to them, whether it be world building or simply showcasing the robotechnology. This issue just seemed to go for the summer blockbuster, turn off your brain, type action which unfortunately was not supported by the narrative.

As I previously mentioned, this issue for me returns to form as it moves the story along, the SDF-1 has been away for months now in space and is making some progress getting back to Earth, but it also takes the time to add additional motivations for its characters, Rick and Roy’s stories get hints at the future and Lisa is seemingly going to be the focal point for this arc.

The art is, as usual, one of the high-points of this series. It’s hard trying to find new ways to express how much I have been enjoying Marco Turini’s work month-in and month-out. Characters continue to be distinct, the robots look awesome and the action sequences continue to be marvellous.

Christ Panda on art, with colours by Garcia Cruz, also impressed me in his take on the Micronauts and Rom. One of the first difficulties in combining these two franchises is to make both seems important on the page and not diminish each other. This is especially true when one of the characters, Rom, is probably hundreds of times larger than his compatriots. At times the scaling of the characters was a little off - the scene where Rom waits on the repairs of the Micronauts ship - but for the most part, you could tell that the Micronauts were not as big as Rom visually. Gage also added some tidbits here and there in the dialogue to also put that point across. I'd like to give special mention to Garcia Cruz's colours: they are bright, vibrant, and jump off the page.

For a first issue of a mini-series, Gage does a great job on all fronts: we get introduced to all the actors within the series - done through both the recap page and within the story. We get the antagonist's motivations right from the beginning. We get some somewhat cheesy exposition that fits really well with the source material. And finally, we are treated to some fantastic art from Villanelli and Alexakis. Great start!

Vilanelli continues to provide some very expressive art throughout the issue. I'm enjoying the fluidity that he provides to the characters and the battles, and they are often enhanced by the colors of Alexakis. Sometimes the shading can be a little much, but that is but a small complaint.

In all, seeing as how this is the midway point of the mini-series, we are getting some good action coupled with good art. Now I am anxiously awaiting what Gage has in store for the next two issues, as one thing this didn't really have, was enough plot advancement, and I hope that changes next issue.

In the end however, was this mini-series worth it? I would say yes, and if you can't track down the individual issues, it would be worth a read in trade. This final issue sees the Micronauts, ROM, and their allies finally confront the Wraiths and Baron Karza, and the choice that is made at the end, which I will not spoil, is one that will indeed have future repercussions if IDW ever goes back to the Micronauts franchise. It was very well executed and left me actually wondering what would happen next. A feat that is not always accomplished with this type of series.

Saga has been one of those comics that has garnered high praise during its publication run and deservedly so. What Staples and Vaughan have crafted is a very personal story told on a grand scale, and chapter forty-five continues this high level of writing and art that we have come to love these last five years. Staples and Vaughan have found the perfect balance when it comes to telling their stories of Marko, Alana and Hazel and it always a pleasure to get to read and experience them.

Staples and Vaughan, it has been said, and should be said over and over, are a powerhouse of a team. This issue continues the trend of excellent self-contained stories that explore many different topics that could easily be seen in our own, real world. In addition to Marko's story, we are shown what a cruel world can do to even the strongest of person's psyche in Petrichor, and we get to explore the topic of loss and remembrance with Hazel and her little brother. There is a reason why this is one of the top rated comics month in and month out.

Saga continues to be an excellently written, beautiful drawn book that is really hard to critique from month to month. I will say that this issue does contain one profanity that I would prefer not be in my comics, but I do understand that this is by no means a comic for children.

I would also like to mention the backup story real quick. I'm sure Dynamite decided to add this backup reprint to justify the $4.99 price tag, but I just wish they had picked something a little better. Thematically, it is very similar to Vampirella, Valaka has a very similar look, but otherwise, this story really felt like baby's first sword and sorcery tale.

The art team of Carzon, Ottolini, Brys and Temofonte do a fantastic job throughout. Carzon’s panel work helps the story along and is never boring - something that can happen in comics for young readers, and the colour work by Brys is just bright enough to distinguish itself and make sure that the reader can follow the action. Great stuff!

On art, we get the fantastic Moritat, who is just built for this type of series. I was first introduced to his art back in the early 2010s when he was drawing The Spirit for DC, and ever since I will sometimes pick up a comic strictly because of him. This is no different. His use of a messier style (I don’t know how else to describe it) and very expressive characters help the reader feel what is being experienced by the characters. It’s almost a shame that he isn’t also the cover artist, though J. Scott Campbell is no slouch either when it comes to Pin-up style covers.

On art this month, it shows that Moritat shared art duties with Macheras. Unlike in issue two where it was difficult to distinguish where Moritat started and where he ended with his co-artist, this month, it is pretty clear. Macheras has a great style and it is similar enough to Moritat’s, but distinct enough that there is a clear break when Macheras takes over from Moritat.

The other saving grace is the introduction of Maria Sanapo on art. After being let-down that Moritat seemed to only have been hired for a few issues, they finally replaced him with someone who’s art jumps off the page. It’s by no means perfect, but it does add to the story more so than it did before.

Sanapo with the help of de la Cruz continues this month some great visuals in the comic itself. Her art skirts on the edge of the "bad girl" art of the 90s - mostly due to the subject matter more than by choice - but never fully goes over the line. I'm hoping to see some improvement in the expressions of her characters, something I'm a big proponent of, but otherwise, a pretty good job on her part.

At this point, I’m not sure if the editorial team is really doing their job correctly because a lot of this should have been caught at the editorial phase. This isn’t just limited to the art, however. At points there are missed grammar mistakes as well as missed speech balloons. It’s always regrettable seeing these types of mistakes in a bigger publisher like Dynamite and I hope this gets fixed in the trade/digital issues as well as future issues.

For a first issue, Spy Seal #1 was definitely a fun read that brought me back to my childhood. As with good debut issues, it gave us a good primer for Malcolm’s world and gave us enough to want to come back for more.

My only negative to this issue, and probably to the series in general, is that because it is so reminiscent of European comics, the progression of the story seems a little stilted and would probably benefit if it was a graphic novel instead of individual issues. Once the graphic novel comes out of the first story-arc, it will definitely become a must-read, I’m almost sure of it.

I have one small gripe though and that is general to the use of anthropomorphic of characters in comics. Especially when it comes to birds like Kes. Having the visual of her “flapping” her arms as if they were wings was a little weird to see on the page, but still, a minor gripe.

All in all, Spy Seal was a very fun read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun adventure. Reading it in single issues was a lot of fun, but this may be one of those minis that is best to read in trade, if only to be able to keep track of who is who from moment to moment.

All this amounts to a pretty fun read and some pretty gorgeous art throughout. The one thing you don’t learn right away in this issue, but get a glimpse of as you read the additional pages is, this is a story we’ve seen before. A pretty well-known story at that. But Rodriguez does a good job of hiding that fact throughout the issue, and it is better for it.

To be honest, that is the only true negative of this series up to date, and it is not this series fault - this is a bigger problem in the comics industry in this, the age of the trade paperback where you almost have to read a full story arc in one go (and not month to month) to not get lost in the story.

All in all, Swordquest continues to be an enjoyable read from month to month. Dynamite has been known to snag up fledgling, or even dead properties, and bring new life to them and this is definitely the case with this new Atari line of comics.

Ghostwriter X continues their stellar work on the book. They get to have some fun with Mr. Juros throughout the latter half - he seems to be just an ordinary business man, but X gives him enough presence throughout, with some visual winks and nods here and there, that you know there is something more to the character.

All in all though, I enjoyed the issue and enjoyed the premise of this new take of Tales of Suspense. Rosenberg does a great job at summarizing the events of Secret Empire that have led to this point as well introducing each character in a fun, aka filled way. My favorite part? The letters page at the end. Make sure not to miss it.

In all, Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing of a classic Archie character like Sabrina is a lot of fun. She’s strong-willed, rebellious and will do what she feels is necessary, damn the consequences. After reading this issue, I want to learn more about this new world he is creating for Sabrina and that is never a bad thing.

The art is also a pretty big attraction to this series. Beem is another in a series of artists that paint everything which adds enough uniqueness to the comic that you don’t always see on the shelves. Hopefully Beem will be given enough time between issues to complete them since their style is not always great for a monthly schedule. Time will tell.

Beem’s painted art continues to impress in this second issue and I would recommend this series on Beem’s art alone.The red cheeks that Beem seems to give to everyone can be a little distracting, but otherwise, each page is beautifully painted and helps sell the story as it unfolds.

The Family Trade at first seemed like it was going to be the simple story of our protagonist Jessa as she tries to navigate her way through this strange world. However, now that three issues have come out, you can start to tell that Jordan and Ryan are trying to craft something much more complex than that. The great thing about this series is the postscript that Jordan writes after issue where he explains some of his story related motivations, and in this issue, he touches upon something that isn’t screaming off the page, but that you could surmise is happening: the system that controls the Float, it isn’t perfect by any means and the fact that the Family fights to keep that system in balance doesn’t necessarily make them the good guys in this situation. This ambiguity is then at the heart of the series as we get to follow Jessa as she tries to navigate through all this craziness.

The art by Beem continues to be spectacular throughout the issue. Painted art is always awesome to take in, especially when done right, and Beem does just that. There are sometimes the body compositions seem a little off from panel to panel, but that is a minor gripe. Another minor gripe comes from some of the dialogue in the book - some of the voices, now that we are four issues in, seem stilted at times. It doesn't take you out of the story too much, but just enough to be noticeable at times.

In all, I was very impressed by this first issue of a series I quite frankly completely missed the first time around. I’ve been on a pretty big time-travel kick lately and this definitely is a welcome addition.

In all, this was a fun series to read and could easily recommend to any fans of comics in general. I’ll admit it was sometimes difficult keeping up month to month with the story - the reason why I think the third issue was a little confusing - but in trade format, this will be an excellent read.

You can see from this first issue that Palmiotti, though writing a more adult themed Jetsons, still demonstrates a love of the original characters. Every one of them has traits from the old cartoon, but now are made more real, with real world problems. It’s a take on an old franchise that I can get behind.

For a second issue, Palomiotti and Brito on art, do a marvelous job in making us continue to care about these characters and what they are going through. I think the best part about the comic is the family dynamic that we get from the various interactions between each Jetson. Even though they all seem to be living their own lives, they are still connected and love one another and want to see each succeed. And having Rosie be the grandmother is still a stroke of genius.

The rest of the cast comprises a couple of newer characters that long-time Mighty Crusader fans may not know, some older characters as well some that were introduced when Dark Circle came back into print a few years ago. This, combined with a pretty fun first issue, gives me hope that this will be a pretty fun series to read.

Quite frankly, I think what I like the most about The Mighty Crusaders is how it feels like it is trying to harken back to older style tales of superhero teams that we don’t see too much of these days. Yes, sometimes it is best moving forward, but looking back sometimes is fun too.

All in all, The Mighty Crusaders was a pretty fun, nostalgia filled, read and it is something I would recommend to any fans of these characters (new and old). It’s a fun afternoon read that does harken back to days of old where superhero comics could be simple superhero comics, something we don’t see as much these days.

After this first issue, I’m very intrigued to see where this story goes, especially with the fantastic work that Aja is bringing to the table. The entire issue itself gave enough hints to keep my attention - the whole seeds thing does get mentioned, but not explained - and I’m hoping the end-of-issue reveal proves to be a little more original than what is presented. Good first issue.

As far as pulp-style stories go, this has been a fun series up to date. I actually can’t wait to read more. I really enjoy that not one beat is wasted within the story and that Spurrier and Watters are making sure to tie everything together.

I’ve also enjoyed Spurrier and Watters’ exploration of The Shadow’s past, as Mary keeps finding new ways for her burn-victim to relieve his past and to make some sense to it. These glimpses also provide the reader with a way to better know who this character is, especially those of us who are newer to the character, or haven’t read his stories in years.

And that is essentially the crux of this series: ordinary people get changed when in the presence of the Shadow. Sometimes for the better, but also sometimes for the worse. The entire middle sequence of this issue explores this exact subject as we get to see the Shadow reflect on his past, and get that gem of a quote above.

The biggest redeeming factor for this comic is Timpano’s art. Every page was a joy to look at. His Batman, Shadow and Robin all look amazing, dynamic and just the appropriate amount of dark throughout. His style just “fits” with this type of comic and was really enjoyable.

A great debut issue for this new mini-series from IDW. I was not aware of any previous work by Visaggio, but now that I have read some of her work, definitely a creator I’ll have to keep my eye out for.

On art, Ossio and Garcia Cruz are a pretty great team given the reader some very nice sequences. The battles between Virulina’s people and the Spectral Knights finally showcases their powers (animal specters that come from their staffs). It’s also appreciated that they make an effort to make each character distinct - an easy problem to have with a comic based on a toy/cartoon where a lot of them could sometimes be similar.

We don’t get to see a lot of Cybertronians in this issue, but that’s okay. For this issue, having the spotlight on the Visionaries helps to better establish these characters, who, for all intents and purposes, are still relatively new to this Hasbro universe.

I’m really curious to see how this plays out in the end since the title might say Transformers vs Visionaries, this has been pretty much a vehicle (no pun intended) for the Visionaries with the Transformers there more as chess pieces to be used when needed - a complaint that I’ve heard from all these Transformers vs series, but that I can’t echo due to this being my first such series.

Cahill and Pitre-Durocher’s art continues to be fantastic and continues to be enhanced by the amazing colors of Lafuente. This art team does a wonderful job of conveying the personalities of each individual Transformer throughout the issue, something that isn’t always easy when your main protagonists and antagonists are giant-sized robots.

Speaking of the cast, my only real nitpick is that Lost Light doesn’t have a list of characters at the beginning of the issue like sister title Optimus Prime does. With such a large cast it would be appreciated to have that small reminder every issue of the who’s who.

In the end, this is one pretty fun comic that gives us exactly what it promises: a quick exploration of characters that may not be central to the main First Strike storyline but those are a lot of fun nonetheless. Added to the fun story is the excellent visuals from Tramontano. She can draw one mean transformer (and Arcee and Kup look awesome).

In the second story in this issue, we get a story that I was able to relate to a bit, since I completely agree with Scrooge: when buying art, do you truly want to spend an exorbitant amount of money on something you believe you can make yourself? And that’s exactly what Scrooge sets out to do: make his own masterpiece. As with the first story, plenty of hijinks follows with an ending that can be seen from a mile away, but nonetheless still makes for a fun story.

His counterpart on art, Broxton has been equally great. All of his characters are a little rough around the edges, but that works for the book. I really enjoy his take on Vampirella as well since he brings a certain coquettishness to our heroine. You know, just by looking at her that she not only has a plan in mind at all times, but knows that she will prevail in the end. It also helps that he is inker and colourist of his own work since it keeps the art consistent throughout, a major plus these days in the comic book world.

On art, Belanger does an amazing job at conveying who these characters are. Having to draw multiple versions of Vampirella could have been a chore for other artists, but Belanger works to make sure each and every one of the them resembles their former counterparts in the comics from the past. It’s also the little features that he doesn’t miss, like the popped collar on Classic Vampirella that distinguishes her from other takes that have a similar outfit.

I was a little wary when I saw that this issue had three artists attached to it, since that is usually a sign of lower quality art, but I was pleasantly surprised that each section was turned over to one artist so that it allowed for some continuity in design from page to page. Only when the story beats changed did the artist change which is greatly appreciated.

Reading ahead a little, it seems this is the penultimate issue to Whitley’s run, so I am really curious to see how he wraps everything up in the final issue. It is now two issues in a row that Whitley does a fantastic job of giving an ending to an issue to wet our appetite for the following issue, so we’ll have to see how he decides to wrap everything up in the end.

It greatly helps this series also to have an artist like Davis-Hunt. He’s been showing that he can do both the smaller, quieter moments as well as the big action scenes - with probably a little more blood than we’re used to possibly. The way he shows off John’s escape from IO was different than how other artists would portray that scene, and it made it a lot of fun to follow. In all, another great issue.

Davis-Hunt continues to work his magic in this series and gets to flex his artistic muscle throughout the issue. The scenes with Marlowe explaining his origins to Angela and the interactions between Jenny and the Doctor are visually beautiful and continue to add to the story in ways that have to be seen.

In this issue, Davis-Hunt gets to flex his artistic muscle once more and it’s still, once again, great to see. One thing I’ve noticed through this series has been Ellis’ willingness to always give one, sprawling scene to Davis-Hunt to showcase his artistic talent. This time, it comes in the form of John’s sequence (once again actually). Beautiful yet brutal is all I can say about those pages.

You can tell Ellis and Davis-Hunt are working towards something that may be pretty explosive, but for now, The Wild Storm continues to play the “set-up” game all the while moving the pieces closer and closer together and I can't wait to see where everything ends up.

Other than that minor gripe, The Wild Storm is wholly different enough from the rest of what is being published by DC Comics that I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a fun thriller that is fun for both new fans and old.

Unfortunately, that is pretty much all I can talk about this issue without going into spoiler territory. What I can say is, the art by Ingranata is beautiful with great color contributions from Valenza. The art helps bring home the impact of the story within the pages and really makes me want to read more. Though the story is a little bit paint-by-numbers as to how Alex will become the witchblade, it is still enjoyable in Kittredge’s great use of foreshadowing throughout.